A partition is a collection of stored data, including account databases, container databases, and objects. Partitions are core to the replication system.
Think of a partition as a bin moving throughout a fulfillment center warehouse. Individual orders get thrown into the bin. The system treats that bin as a cohesive entity as it moves throughout the system. A bin is easier to deal with than many little things. It makes for fewer moving parts throughout the system.
System replicators and object uploads/downloads operate on partitions. As the system scales up, its behavior continues to be predictable because the number of partitions is a fixed number.
Implementing a partition is conceptually simple, a partition is just a directory sitting on a disk with a corresponding hash table of what it contains.
